Killingworth

We've got concrete hippos. That's the lot.

Twinned with a concrete hippo

50/100Crap Score

490th crappest of 984 towns, and 15th in Tyne and Wear. Higher scores are crapper.

How the score works

Have your say

Crap Town of the Year 2026/27

See the race

The public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.

Letters from the locals

Got something to say about Killingworth? Write in.

Cheaper than the zoo, and you can tell

Killy's got concrete hippos, a lake and lads on motorbikes where they shouldn't be.

Killingworth is a new town with concrete hippos. Kids get taken to see them instead of the zoo. Cheap day out. The cul-de-sacs are called garths and no delivery driver on earth can find yours. Lads on motorbikes tear about where they shouldn't, and the fly-tippers are busy.

Loads of park, hardly any play spaces, so the kids get a field and a concrete hippo and that's your lot. The local yobs set the grass on fire at about five times the typical town's rate. There's 2 Greggs, which per head is about five times the typical town's. Early steam engines were built round here. Now it's lads on motorbikes.

The editor, who saw the hippos. Once was enough.

What the score is made of

Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.

Killingworth's 89 for deliberate fires means it's crapper than 89% of towns.

Deliberate fires89/10020.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
Fly-tipping81/10019.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, North Tyneside council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
Anti-social behaviour75/10019.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
Criminal damage and arson67/1008.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
Air pollution54/10010.6 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.1 of fine particles, 2024 average
Broadband45/1008.4% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.9% across the North Tyneside council area
Rain43/100125 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
Sewage spills28/10086.8 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
Food hygiene21/1000.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 49 food businesses with a rating
Serious road collisions11/1001.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025

**Your patch: Tyne and Wear**Towns in the same county. Top of the table is crappest.
Pos	Town	National	Score
9	Hebburn	247th	75
10	Houghton-le-Spring	268th	73
11	Birtley	309th	69
12	Longbenton	383rd	61
13	Washington	422nd	57
14	Whickham	465th	53
15	Killingworth	490th	50
16	Shiney Row and Penshaw	525th	47
In danger of becoming nice from here down.17	Whitley Bay	733rd	26

Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.

Killingworth by numbers

Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.

Crime, muck and dodgy water

What's left on the high street

Getting about, getting online, getting rained on

North Tyneside council

Have a crap-off

Killingworth against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.

Against

KillingworthCrap Score 50

LongbentonCrap Score 61

Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.